Shut up, body! Just do what I friggin' tell you!

a reply to: DrumsRfun

I'm such a cat lady. Maybe I should take them running with me. For inspiration.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Good luck getting them to do what you want.
LOL

People train dogs....cats train people.

Dude, I know the feeling. Us introverts are usually the ones slinking off away from large gatherings and activities with many participants because oh hell no. We see different things as private compared to others, which for us...is everything a person can possibly do in life. I'm not even comfortable eating in front of others, exercising in front of others is a big fat solid NO for me.

Despite that, I'm also getting pretty out of shape myself. So what I've been doing instead of a whole lot of talk & no action about getting in shape out of the house is to do it inside instead. Speedwalk laps around the basement when everyone's asleep, push-ups on the stairs when no one's looking (yeah, I'm that out of shape, I can't do even a girlie one anymore) and a 10 lb set of weights just came in the mail today. I've already worked a little with them today, and will continue to squeeze in some reps here & there. A little effort is better than none at all.

How big is your residence? Is it an apartment, house, etc? Roomies, no roomies? If it's possible for you to rearrange a room inside & use it as a small course for jogging inside, go for it. No one but the dog & lizard will know

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: ketsuko

There's no shame at all. As long as I'm walking towards a BBQ at the end, I'll get through it.

Whatever motivates you. Being active is the most important part.

a reply to: DrumsRfun

Great, now I'm picturing my cat's as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.

*Cat Voice* "You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece! What's your name fat body? "

a reply to: Nyiah

I feel you in a big way. I'm glad you found a way around it, and made yourself an exercise course in the house.

My house IS an exercise course, constantly under renovation. I have considered investing in a second hand treadmill, but I'm so cheap, and there are roads right outside. SO I'm cheap and introverted. Not a good mix!

a reply to: Atsbhct

Don't feel alone. The only jogging I do is to the refrigerator and back during commercials.

If it were me, I'd get my money back, go home and have a large pizza delivered.

"I take my only exercise acting as a pallbearer at the funerals of my friends who exercise regularly." - Mark Twain

a reply to: N3k9Ni


I love pizza. I'd run around a pizza all day.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Start off with walking.It'll take time for your bones and ligaments to adjust to the different loads being placed upon them.Concentrate on your breathing-breathe in for two or three steps,breathe out for the same.

Don't worry about losing weight-it'll happen by itself and it takes AGES.

Try to recruit someone in the same condition as yourself-you can push each other.

Don't try to advance too quickly.It takes time.

When I am feeling lazy and feel the need to go on a run I usually read a bit in any of the recent Navy SEAL books (Fearless, American Sniper, Lone Survivor, etc) and it makes me realize if they can go through all of that, I can stop being such a lady's parts and go on a run.

Usually helps out for the first little while.

I first got into running many years ago, after my third pregnancy left me with excess fat.

Ever since, I may go through periods where I get busy and stop, but eventually get back into it.
I do remember the first try though, and how truly awful it was! It can seem like torture!

Two things - start off easy. Twenty minutes of walking a day.
Or - take the car to a really pretty nature place, and plan a long walk which is like a loop... once you get going, you have no choice but to continue to get back to your car. Make no effort to go fast, walk as slow as you want!
The idea here is to make it pleasurable. If it is pleasurable, that is what will stick in your memory and motivate you to do it again. At the beginning, creating that association in memory is more important than actually getting in shape.

What happens in time is that it starts to feel easier and easier, and you might actually start jogging because you just want to increase that feeling of warmth in your muscles. That is what happened to me. I started running because it felt so good, not because I had any preformed plans to run.

Second thing- find the moment of that hormonal high! Once you get that, it becomes what your body craves and rushes towards. It is addicting, and you'll soon find that even if months have passed while you fell out of habit, your body will remember that feeling, and become oblivious to the discomfort of the first 10 to 15 minutes, in anticipation.

LOL That was a funny OP I am the same, don't think I have jogged or ran anywhere since I was a teenager, even missed buses and trains because am like ''meh # it''

a reply to: Ericthedoubter

I could care less about losing weight.

Breathing seems to be key.

a reply to: ArnoldNonymous

Lol, a lady's parts? Do you have a vagina? They're no picnic. If I could channel all of the power of my baby deliverer into a jog, I could run straight to Kansas.

a reply to: Bluesma

I think I'll take this advice. This morning I drove to the trails and walked for 40 minutes. It felt splendid!

originally posted by: valiant
LOL That was a funny OP

I am the same, don't think I have jogged or ran anywhere since I was a teenager, even missed buses and trains because am like ''meh # it''

Hahaha. This is my attitude exactly.

Weight loss and fitness are one of the toughest nuts to crack because everyone is truly different, for all sorts of reasons, both subtle and obvious. I can share what has worked for me, but only with the caveat that I've seen everyone try all manner of things and fail and try other things and succeed, so what works for one WILL NOT work for all.

I've lost 113 lbs in the last year and a half. I'm a food addict, stemming from severe anxiety (too long to explain the connection, but this is not at all an uncommon problem, and is easily - if somewhat OVER - simplified as just saying "emotional eater.") I have a ton of chronic health issues.

I had tried and failed to lose weight for ... well, forever really. What finally worked, quite simply, was to accept suffering. That sounds crazy, but anything else I needed to do (caloric restriction, carb restriction, exercise, etc.) had to first stem from the true, full acceptance that, "This is going to be hard. This is going to take forever. This is going to require me to feel like crap for a long time. This is going to require me to give up things that I love and that help me cope with misery and anxiety. If I want to achieve this, that's the price. Period."

There was no shortcut, no way of making it easier on myself, no quick fix. The only way out was through. So I embraced that suffering. Made every day I endured it a badge of honor. Made the suffering the reward, instead of the food and the sense of comfort it provided.

When I started out, I could only lift 3 lbs per hand, and walk a total of ten minutes a day without my back going out. (As I said, I have a lot of chronic health issues, and spinal problems are among them.) Today, I'm 10 lbs away from my ideal BMI, can lift 20 lbs per hand, and can walk for two or more hours a day. I do Tai Chi, I do my own version of interval cardio (my health precludes certain things like running,) and I can honestly for the first time say I no longer have food cravings.

Getting there required daily conviction and determination to tough it out. Refusal to give into cravings (and I can honestly tell you, having to do that is how I determined I was a true food addict in every sense of the word. I had literal withdrawals, both physical and psychological.) I never missed a workout unless I was sick or hurt, no matter how bad I felt. I took photos regularly to gauge my progress (I didn't use the scale - you can get neurotic about that. I just weighed myself at checkups.) I dealt with intensified anxiety and depression, and some days required medication for both. Without food to facilitate escape, I had to really face those issues head on.

In short... it was miserable. I never got that wonderful "you'll have more energy and feel better!" feeling out of it (immediate post workout endorphin high notwithstanding.) I feel cold all the time due to losing so much weight, and while I no longer have cravings, when I do have bouts of depression and/or anxiety, despite professional management, not having that ideal fix (food) really forces me to just have to sort of sit with and endure said feelings. And I'm in pain a lot due to my aforementioned health issues. But I'm healthier, I can walk, I can work out, and that in and of itself is worth it to me. I added years to my life.

So while everyone's mileage may vary, my advice - which will work for some and not at all for others, as everyone is different - is to first recognize the psychological reasons for lack of fitness. "Laziness" doesn't seem to be a true primary cause in my experience. It's a symptom of something else. One must ask oneself, "WHY am I so averse to doing this? WHY does it feel so hard for me? What am I REALLY feeling?" And then embrace that getting healthy is going to be hard and require some real suffering potentially depending upon who you are.

This is why I implore people never to judge others for their fitness challenges or weight. If it was this hard for me when, despite some limitations, I'm still relatively young and healthy... imagine someone far worse off, such as my friend who's in a nursing home at 36 and bed ridden. His life is a living hell, yet he never gives up, and against all odds, is losing weight and gaining mobility slowly but surely.

Love yourself. Love and respect others. You can achieve your goals if you uncover the underlying reasons for your own personal obstacles, whatever they may be. My two cents. YMMV as always.

Peace and best of luck to anyone on such a journey.

if you don't like running, ride a bike.

It's easier on the joints and you can pace yourself better. It will also teach your legs to do something.

a reply to: eXia7

I don't enjoy running or biking. I'm only doing it because I joined a charity fun run.